Archaeological sites of Sitia

Archeological Park of Petras

Petras is a settlement located 1 kilometreeast of Sitia. A small tower of the Venetian period, known as the House of Kornaros, which is believed to have belonged to the family of the famous 16th-17th century Sitian poet, Vitsentzos Kornaros, can be seen in the settlement. In the past few decades archaeologists have brought to light a little Minoan palace, and a settlement on the hill above this tower.

The rooms of the palace were luxurious; their floors were paved and their walls painted with coloured mortar. Kitchen utensils, several Linear A and B tablets, various vessels and other artefacts were found on the site. A fortification wall of Cyclopean masonry was unearthed below the central road of the current settlement, and structures which were probably harbour facilities were identified lower down, at the edge of the plain, before the sea.

On a nearby hill known as Kephala tou Petra (east of the palace, towards the sea), an important Neolithic settlement has been excavated in the recent years, by the 24th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. Recently, following the protection and exploitation works conducted in the palace, the settlement of Petras has acquired the form of a kind of archaeological park; it is open to visitors during the summer months.

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